Brisbane Airport Corporation Pty Ltd v Arup Pty Ltd

Brisbane Airport Corporation Pty Ltd (BAP) brought an action against Arup Pty Ltd (Arup) in the Supreme Court of Queensland. BAP sought damages for losses allegedly incurred due to Arup’s alleged failure to provide professional services in accordance with the terms of a contract between the parties. Arup denied liability and raised several defences, including that the claim was statute-barred.

The court was required to determine whether BAP's proposed amendments to its statement of claim introduced a new cause of action which was statute-barred. Arup argued that the amendments introduced a new cause of action in negligence, which was statute-barred. BAP disagreed and submitted that the amendments did not introduce a new cause of action but rather clarified the existing cause of action. The court needed to consider whether the proposed amendments introduced a new cause of action, whether any new cause of action arose out of substantially the same facts as the existing cause of action, and whether it was appropriate to allow the amendments.

The court found that the proposed amendments did not introduce a new cause of action but rather clarified the existing cause of action. The court noted that the amendments did not alter the facts on which the claim was based, nor did they introduce new allegations or seek to rely on a different legal basis. The court concluded that the amendments arose out of substantially the same facts as the existing cause of action and that it was appropriate to allow the amendments. The court granted leave for the amendments to be made substantially in the form of the amended statement of claim filed on 2 May 2017.

No further orders were made.